Hey guys,
Just recently finished the 12 week strength program (4 days per week) for the first time last week. It was pretty grueling for me due to my lack of adequate sleep and less than optimal nutrition, but I’m still very satisfied with my results.
I decided to take a week off after the program before venturing back into the 7-week hypertrophy program. At the end of my week off (previous Thursday) I came down with a fever for a few days and overall felt like crap. Although still not totally recovered, I decided to suck it up and start the hypertrophy program yesterday. I ended up having to cut my workout short after squatting because I was completely drained and out of breath, and wasn’t able to get anywhere near my estimated RPEs. I admit I was being a bit overzealous trying to get pretty close to my E1RM and definitely overshot, but I didn’t think should have been too much of an issue and overshooting has never affected me that badly before.
My question is, do you think this is just normal post-viral fatigue or perhaps a result of the adjustment back to high volume from strength (maybe a little of both?). Also, is it okay to take an extra week off or do you think that would be excessive after the 12 week program? I hate losing strength from lack of training but I’ll do it if it means being fully recovered.
Thanks,
Tony